Ah, freedom is just around the corner… Discovering what that “freedom” might entail once they graduate, Kingfisher County high school seniors and sophomores recently got the opportunity to experience a “Reality Check.”

For the fourth year, Kingfisher County OSU Extension Educator Lindy Peterman organized the event held at the Kingfisher County Fairgrounds, which is designed to help students prepare for real-life financial decisions and consequences once they graduate.

“Reality Check is an experience to help students become aware of basic skills in financial planning, goal setting, decision making and career planning by making realistic educational choices based on the income they receive,” Peterman said.

Students are assigned a career based on their higher education goals or interests and are given one of four random household profiles - a single person, a single parent, married without children or married with children.

They begin the two-hour experience by visiting the bank to receive their monthly paycheck based on their career and then rotate through approximately 20 booths to make financial decisions related to typical monthly expenses.

Business members and individuals from the community volunteer at each booth to educate and assist students as they make decisions and purchases for housing, insurance, transportation, groceries, child-care, utilities and a variety of other expenses.

Once the students have made their financial decisions, they “check out” to determine what’s left of their finances and receive candy bars, such as a $100,000 bar, Zero bar, Payday, etc.

At the end of the event, students complete a survey expressing their thoughts on the experience.

Some of the top life lessons many students said they learned were that they should prioritize paying for housing and transportation, there’s a difference between needs and wants and it’s important to receive career training after high school as well as other factors.

Commenting on the most surprising things they learned at the event, students said: “Things cost a lot more than I expected.”

“Money gets tight fast.” “I need to take my education more seriously, so my future isn’t rough.”

“The most surprising thing I learned was the amount of stress adults go through just to live life and to stay out of debt.”

“Save your money and make

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sure you get what you need, not want. Growing up is hard.”

Volunteers also completed surveys and expressed their appreciation for the event and the valuable insights students gain which will help guide them as they step out on their own in the future.

“This is a great way to educate the youth on financial responsibility,” a volunteer commented. “It is a very eye-opening experience for many.”

Another volunteer stated, “It’s a good exercise for kids to ‘think’ about what it actually takes just to live.”

Expressing her appreciation to everyone involved in the event, Peterman said, “I would like to thank all the volunteers who participated, (high school) counselors for their support and Ovintiv for the grant they provided to purchase signs, lunch for the volunteers and candy bars for the students.

“Students quickly realize life is not just a game, but an adventure for which they should prepare.”

If anyone is interested in helping with next year’s “Reality Check,” contact Peterman at the Kingfisher County OSU Extension Office, 300 S. 13th St., Kingfi sher, (405) 375-3822.